Duchamp and Roussel’s procedure (hermeneutic misunderstandings)

Abstract

“Duchamp and Roussel’s procedure (hermeneutic misunderstandings)” addresses the essential role that poetic language plays in the artistic universe of Marcel Duchamp. It faces the confluence of Marcel Duchamp’s art and Raymond Roussel’s literature by systematically exploring the devices of Roussel’s procedure (his popular writing method). Following a rigorous comparative analytical method, the current article aligns these devices with the texts of Duchamp, relying on the historic contributions of Michel Saounillet (which were devoted to another of the literary influences of the French artist: The Logic Grammar by Jean Pierre Brisset). In short, this article establishes a methodological basis for reviewing the prominent reading of Duchamp’s oeuvre: the hermeneutics set by the Surrealism movement. That is to say, the critical background that put Duchamp’s word play together with diverse esoteric traditions in order to offer an occult meaning of his art.